TicketsUniversity of Cincinnati volleyball returns to play in front of its home crowd this week with three matches on the schedule. First, UC will travel to Xavier on Thursday night at 6 p.m. for a rivalry match to start off the annual Queen City Classic. Competition will move to Fifth Third Arena on Saturday when the Bearcats host Bowling Green for the home-opener at noon. The weekend concludes with a 1 p.m. match against No. 25 Louisville on Sunday.
// PROMOTIONS
• $2 beer and $1 soda will be offered at the concession stand on Saturday
• On Sunday, pretzels will be just $2 each
• The first 200 students that attend Sunday's match will receive free Penn Station subs at the Fans First Center
• Sunday is the program's annual Alumnae Day with former Bearcats recognized on-court
// GOING LIVE
• Xavier will provide a live stream and live stats of Thursday's match at GoXavier.com
• GoBearcatsTV will live stream both weekend matches and stats will be available at GoBearcats.com
// OPPONENT OVERVIEW
• Xavier sits at 3-5 this season and just finished up playing No. 22 Louisville at the Lipscomb Tournament, losing in straight sets
• The Musketeers also lost to host Lipscomb, 3-1, to start the event last weekend
• The Bearcats hold a 24-11 all-time record over their rivals
• Last season, UC won 3-1 at home. The last matchup in the Cintas Center was also a UC victory, 3-2 in 2017
• The last Xavier victory was in 2014
• Bowling Green is off to an even 5-5 start this year
• The Falcons lost all three of their matches at the WKU Invitational last weekend, losing 3-0 to WKU, 3-1 to Tulane and 3-0 to Ohio State
• UC is 13-10 all-time against BGSU
• The most recent meeting between the two teams was in 2000 when Bowling Green won 3-2 at a neutral site
• No. 25 Louisville enters the weekend at 6-2
• Most recently, the Cardinals beat Xavier 3-0 after losing 3-1 to No. 21 Purdue at the Lipscomb Tournament
• Louisville will have to face No. 16 Kentucky on Friday night before continuing the trip up to Cincinnati for Sunday's contest
• The Cardinals hold a 17-40 all-time advantage over the Bearcats
• The last meeting was in 2015 with UC losing at home 3-1
• The Bearcats last beat the Cardinals in 2009 in straight sets at home
// CLIMBING THE RANKS
• Jordan Thompson is once again setting herself apart as one of the best players in the country this season
• Currently, she ranks sixth in the nation in kills per set and fifth in points per set while ranking fourth and third in total kills and total points, respectively
• She leads the conference in kills and points per set
• Thompson was named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week this past Monday for the second time this season, landing on the Honor Roll in week two
• She was a back-to-back tournament MVP, earning the accolade at both the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational and the NKU Invitational
• Thompson's name is written all over the UC record book with perhaps the most lofty record still in sight. With 92 more kills, she will become UC's all-time career kills leader
// PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT RECAP
• The Bearcats are fresh off their second consecutive tournament victory
• UC won last weekend's NKU Invitational with Thompson being named MVP and Adria Oliver and Mackenzie Conner joining her on the all-tournament team
• UC began with a 3-1 win over Notre Dame on Friday then started Saturday with a victory against Ball State
• The Bearcats battled but fell late in five sets against host NKU to end the event
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.
// PROMOTIONS
• $2 beer and $1 soda will be offered at the concession stand on Saturday
• On Sunday, pretzels will be just $2 each
• The first 200 students that attend Sunday's match will receive free Penn Station subs at the Fans First Center
• Sunday is the program's annual Alumnae Day with former Bearcats recognized on-court
// GOING LIVE
• Xavier will provide a live stream and live stats of Thursday's match at GoXavier.com
• GoBearcatsTV will live stream both weekend matches and stats will be available at GoBearcats.com
// OPPONENT OVERVIEW
• Xavier sits at 3-5 this season and just finished up playing No. 22 Louisville at the Lipscomb Tournament, losing in straight sets
• The Musketeers also lost to host Lipscomb, 3-1, to start the event last weekend
• The Bearcats hold a 24-11 all-time record over their rivals
• Last season, UC won 3-1 at home. The last matchup in the Cintas Center was also a UC victory, 3-2 in 2017
• The last Xavier victory was in 2014
• Bowling Green is off to an even 5-5 start this year
• The Falcons lost all three of their matches at the WKU Invitational last weekend, losing 3-0 to WKU, 3-1 to Tulane and 3-0 to Ohio State
• UC is 13-10 all-time against BGSU
• The most recent meeting between the two teams was in 2000 when Bowling Green won 3-2 at a neutral site
• No. 25 Louisville enters the weekend at 6-2
• Most recently, the Cardinals beat Xavier 3-0 after losing 3-1 to No. 21 Purdue at the Lipscomb Tournament
• Louisville will have to face No. 16 Kentucky on Friday night before continuing the trip up to Cincinnati for Sunday's contest
• The Cardinals hold a 17-40 all-time advantage over the Bearcats
• The last meeting was in 2015 with UC losing at home 3-1
• The Bearcats last beat the Cardinals in 2009 in straight sets at home
// CLIMBING THE RANKS
• Jordan Thompson is once again setting herself apart as one of the best players in the country this season
• Currently, she ranks sixth in the nation in kills per set and fifth in points per set while ranking fourth and third in total kills and total points, respectively
• She leads the conference in kills and points per set
• Thompson was named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week this past Monday for the second time this season, landing on the Honor Roll in week two
• She was a back-to-back tournament MVP, earning the accolade at both the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational and the NKU Invitational
• Thompson's name is written all over the UC record book with perhaps the most lofty record still in sight. With 92 more kills, she will become UC's all-time career kills leader
// PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT RECAP
• The Bearcats are fresh off their second consecutive tournament victory
• UC won last weekend's NKU Invitational with Thompson being named MVP and Adria Oliver and Mackenzie Conner joining her on the all-tournament team
• UC began with a 3-1 win over Notre Dame on Friday then started Saturday with a victory against Ball State
• The Bearcats battled but fell late in five sets against host NKU to end the event
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.